September Update
This
is a third update in a series of e-mail blasts to keep you
informed on the progress of my bill to eliminate the moving penalty. At
the bottom of this e-mail you will find information on how you can get
involved to help move this legislation forward. In my last update I
informed you of efforts taken over the past several weeks, to
advance this bill. One of our activities was meeting with the
Florida Association of Realtors (FAR) during their annual convention in
Orlando
.
I
am happy to report, that FAR has made a commitment to perform an
extensive study on this issue and produce a report by January 2006.This
is good news for all of us, as we will have solid and documented
evidence to refute the claims of the bureaucrats and liberals who
assert that this proposal will cost local governments tax dollars. From
the very beginning I have stated that "this proposal will not decrease the
property tax base one penny! In fact, I am
confident that the FAR study will confirm that this legislation will
have a positive impact
on revenues.
I
am honored to have your support on this very important legislation.
Also, I would like to say that you are not alone in supporting this
bill. Not a day goes by that we do not have new people rallying to the
cause and offering their assistance. Recently I had the opportunity to
meet with the author of the original "Save Our Homes Constitutional
Initiative", Lee County Property Appraiser, Ken
Wilkinson. I am grateful to have Mr..
Wilkinson's support and assistance to get this legislation passed. As
you will see in this article (segments below taken from the Ft.
Myers News Press), Mr.. Wilkinson is excited
about coming on board and assisting our efforts to eliminate
this unfair tax, which was an unintended consequence of the original
"Save Our Homes."
PUBLISHED:
September 5, 2005:
"Truth-in Millage" (TRIM)
notices mailed out to all property owners last month clearly illustrate
the sizable property tax savings that many homeowners presently enjoy.
That savings, limiting annual tax increases to 3 percent on homesteaded
property, came about as a result of a constitutional amendment passed
by Florida
voters in 1992.
The amendment, known as Save Our Homes, or SOH, was a result of a
Herculean effort by Kenneth M. Wilkinson, our Lee Country property
appraiser. Wilkinson authored the amendment and organized the effort to
collect more than 500,000 signatures statewide so the amendment could
go on the ballot.
Now, 13 years later, Wilkinson is at it again with a
new campaign to allow "portability," the transference of SOH property
tax deductions to a newly purchased dwelling. Some of the accumulated
annual tax savings, per individual family, are currently well in excess
of several thousand dollars.
“…What a
difference 10 years has made. No one could have predicted Florida 's
population boom or the enormous escalation in home prices. With new and
repeat home buyers paying property taxes on much higher assessed
values, tax revenues have soared statewide and, to such an extent in Lee County that our millage rate has remained relatively unchanged.
All this has created a new problem that Wilkinson
now wishes to address. Some homeowners, especially elderly couples,
that have seen the value of their houses double or triple in the past
10 years, would like to downsize but are reluctant to sell because they
would lose their SOH deductions.”
“…This time Wilkinson intends to go the legislative
route rather than repeat the lengthy petition process that would now
require 611,000 valid signatures, representing 8 percent of the voters
in the 2004 general election.
… Since Wilkinson's proposal does have merit, there is a good chance
that the required 60 percent of the members of both the House and
Senate will vote to place the amendment on the ballot in the 2006
general election.
… If you have any thoughts on this subject, now is the time to contact
your representatives.”
Thank
you Mr. Wilkinson for your support and I look forward to working with
you to accomplish this goal.
I
would like to request for each person, who reads this e-mail, to
contact one of your friends, neighbors, or business associates, and ask
them to write a letter or make a phone call to their state
Representative and Senator, requesting them to support my bill. Also,
please send us e-mail addresses of anyone who might be interested in
supporting our cause.
This
week, House Speaker Allan Bense referred
HJR 33 to several committees. It is my hope that this bill will be
fully deliberated in the house, but I need your assistance to
make this happen. Because the bill is an amendment to the State
Constitution, the first committee of reference is the Judiciary
Committee.
The
Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, Rep. David Simmons, made a
commitment to me this week, to hear HJR 33 soon in his committee. I
hope you will contact him and thank him for encouraging a debate on
this very important issue. Also, I would like to thank Representatives:
Altman; Goldstein; Hasner; Rivera; Robaina and Taylor for agreeing to co-sponsor
HJR 33.
Contact information:
Rep.
David Simmons
District
Office:
(407) 262-7520
Tallahassee
Office:
(850) 488-2231
Judiciary
Committee: (850) 487-1345
Email:
david.simmons@myfloridahouse.gov
Write
a
letter:
The Honorable David Simmons
Suite
1427
393 Center
Pointe Circle
Altamonte Springs
, FL
32701-3444
If you need additional information on HJR 33, or need
assistance in writing a letter, please contact my office at (561)
625-5176
UPDATE JANUARY 15, 2005
I am very
happy to announce that on January 10th SRJ 138:
Relating to Homestead
Property/Just Value, the
companion Bill to HRS 033: Relating
to Homestead Property Assessments, was passed unanimously by the
members of the Senate Community Affairs Committee.
The Government Efficiency Appropriations
Committee is the next stop for SJR 138 in the Senate.
The Chairman of the Government Efficiency
Appropriations Committee is Senator Jeffrey “Jeff” Atwater. Senator Atwater can be reached at his District
Office located in North Palm Beach at:
561-625-5101 or atwater.jeff.web@flsenate.gov.
In order for HJR 033 to move forward in the House Rep. David
Simmons must put HJR 033 on his committee agenda. I spoke to House
Representative David Simmons, Chairman of the Judiciary Committee and
he once again assured me that HJR 033 will be added to his committee
agenda. It is imperative that we keep
calling and e-mailing Rep. David Simmons to let him know how important
this legislation is to the people of this great state. Representative
Simmons can be reached in his District Office located in
Altamonte Springs at: 407-262-7520
or David.Simmons@myfloridahouse.gov.
A
recent article on HJR 033 appeared in FrontPageFlorida.com. I have included a copy of the article
below. I want to personally thank everyone
who is working so hard to ensure that this important legislation is
passed so that people can live in the home of their dreams.
###
PALM BEACH GARDENS -- In 1992 Florida voters passed an amendment to our State
constitution called the Save Our Homes Amendment. It caps property tax
increases for Florida residents who homestead their property at 3
percent or the consumer price index, which ever is lower. I like the
Save Our Homes Amendment. I believe in it. I believe in what it stands
for, but because the real estate market has been so bullish in the past
several years, the Save Our Homes Amendment has created some unintended
consequences.
The way things work
right now, people who stay in their current homes will be protected
from skyrocketing property taxes (due to the increase in property
value), but the minute they move they are hit with a giant tax
increase. I call this the moving penalty. I made it my top priority to
correct this problem. The legislation I have introduced, HJR 33 is
waiting to be heard in the House Judiciary Committee.
To put the gravity of
the issue in perspective, one only need look at the Senate bill summary
of my bill from the 2005 legislative session. The
Senate analyst stated that the average statewide differential between
the current (taxable) value of a homesteaded home and the actual
assessed value (upon sale) is $39,000. In
seven years that number is expected to be $359,000.
How many people will sell their homes and move if
their property taxes will increase four fold?
I say a lot less. And that has certainly contributed to the lack
of supply of affordable housing on the market, thus driving demand and
compounding the problem.
With the rapid
rise in residential real estate values, many Floridians are unable to
consider purchasing a new home. Doing so would subject them to real
estate property tax increases beyond their means. HJR 33 will alleviate
this problem by allowing the earned "Save our Homes" tax benefit to be
transferred, under certain circumstances, to another home of their
choosing. Hence, the "moving penalty" would be eliminated.
Recognizing the
frustration of many Floridians who desire to live somewhere else within
the state, move to a larger home in order to accommodate a growing
family, or in the case of many empty nesters, move to a more
manageable, smaller living space, HJR 33 has been embraced by
Floridians all over the state. Hundreds of e-mails and phone calls have
flooded the State Capital in support of this legislation.
And we already have a bi-partisan coalition of
legislators who have signed on as co-sponsors including former Plant
City Commissioner, State Rep. Richard "Rich" Glorioso,
R-Plant
City , and Rep. Ken Sorensen, R-Key
Largo, chairman of the powerful Local Government Council. Local government officials have been some of
the most vocal critics of my proposal.
I welcome criticism of
the bill from any and all interested parties. This
issue is a critical problem for families all across the state and
criticism of the idea encourages debate of this very important issue.
There are plenty of
people who argue that someone's home has appreciated in value then they
could afford to pay the greater taxes. This ignores the fact that home
values in Florida have appreciated significantly faster than
the salaries of many Floridians. Also many of our residents are retired
and live on relatively fixed incomes. Many of our public employees such
as teachers, firemen and policemen do not get annual pay raises of
15-30 percent and as a result cannot afford to pay the higher taxes. How many people can say that their salaries
increased at more than 20 percent last year? But
local governments continue to complain that they won’t be able to
survive without this windfall.
Fortunately, the
valuation of the property for that purposes can only increase by the
lesser of the cost of living index or 3 percent due to Section 4,
Article 7 of our State Constitution often known as "Save our Homes."
Imagine your anxiety if your property taxes had gone up 30 percent or
40 percent in the last two or three years. Indeed for many residents
the taxes would have gone up well over a hundred percent,
if it were not for the constitutional restriction on
rising property values. Fortunately, "Save our Homes" has reduced the
impact but in effect has locked you in your home since a move to
another home would be accompanied by a significant increase in property
taxes.
Another objection I
have heard to my proposal comes from people that simply do not believe
in the "Save our Homes" Amendment. This amendment, which was adopted in
the early 1990s after a period of similarly high rates of appreciation
home values, was designed to acknowledge that people were threatened
with losing their homes because of increasing property taxes. It is
similar to legislation that has gained favor around the nation, most
notably Proposition 13 in
California
. I believe the
"Save our Homes" Amendment is an attractive feature of tax structure
and one that creates economic certainty for our populous.
The final argument I
hear against our legislation is that because of "Save our Homes"
commercial and rental property owners are carrying a disproportionate
share of the tax base. The assumption is that if there were no "Save
our Homes" then taxes would be lower for real estate investors. Real
estate investors get significant advantages such as the ability to
depreciate their properties and deduct any expenditure they make in the
property's operation or maintenance. These tax benefits are not
available to someone that owns their own home. The fallacy in the
argument, however, is that there is no evidence that tax rates would be
lower on such properties if "Save our Homes" did not exist. I have
asked a number of city commissioners if they have lowered millage rates
in response to the much greater than expected property tax revenue
flows and in most instances they have said they have not.
It is my experience that
government will spend whatever it can spend and rarely finds a
rationale those results in lower taxes even though government may have
benefited from the present windfall in property appreciation.
Already our proposal has
elicited a thoughtful commentary from people on both sides of the issue. If this idea is given the proper opportunity
for debate, I am confident that most of my fellow legislatures will
vote to let our residents live in the house of their choice without a
property tax increase.
In order for HJR 33 to
become law, it must be passed through the state legislature with at
least three fifths majority in both the House and the Senate. Then the
voters would have a chance to vote on it in the 2006 election. If passed in the election, the legislature
would then be tasked with passing implementing language and our
citizens could begin to take advantage of the benefits.
In the last legislative
session, the bill was hung up in the Finance and Tax Committee in the
House. This year, the House Chairman
of the Judiciary Committee David Simmons, R-Longwood, has agreed to
hear the bill expeditiously. This is good
news. I am ready for the debate and
thrilled for the opportunity
to discuss an issue of such great importance. I
hope the general public will join me in this important conversation.
###
2/13/2006 - I have been informed
today, that HJR 33 has been placed on the Judiciary Committee agenda
and is schedule to be heard on February 22, 2006. After the Judiciary
the bill will have to pass the Local Government Council; Finance &
Tax Committee; and Justice Council.
I would like to thank most
sincerely all of the bill supporters for their lobbying efforts in
persuading various involved legislators to support this imperative and
important legislation. Until now, it has been an uphill battle, however
I am confident that with a united team effort, we might accomplish a
successful conclusion and have the bill passed.
As far as the Senate is
concerned SB 138 (identical bill) was referred to Community Affairs. SB
138 was placed on the committee agenda and heard by Community Affairs
on January 10, 2006. Community affairs
voted unanimously to pass the bill. Currently it is in Government
Efficiency Appropriations and we hope it will receive a similar
reception.
All of the above would not have
been accomplished without your support in contacting your elected
officials urging them to support HJR 33.
I am listing below the names and
contact information for all the members on the House Judiciary
Committee. Please feel free to contact them individually and once again
voice your support for this important legislation.
Rep. David Simmons,Chair david.simmons@myfloridahouse.gov
(407)262-7520
Rep. Juan-Carlos PlanasV.Chair jc.planas@muyfloridahouse.gov (305)442-6800
Rep. Kevin Ambler
Kevin.ambler@myfloridahouse.gov (813)558-1333
Rep. Dennis Baxley
dennis.baxley@myfloridahouse.gov (352)732-1313
Rep. Fred Brummer
fred.brummer@myfloridahouse.gov 407)880-4414
Rep. Anitere Florers
anitere.flores@myfloridahouse.gov (305)227-7626
Rep. Dan Gelber
dan.gelber@myfloridahouse.gov (305)531-7831
Rep. Michael Grant
Michael.grant@myfloridahouse.gov (941)743-2033
Rep. Jeff Kottkamp
jeff.kottkamp@myfloridahouse.gov (239)344-4900
Rep. Sheri McInvale
sheri.mcinvale@myfloridahouse.gov (407)317-7797
Rep. Joe Pickens
joe.pickens@myfloridahouse.gov (386)312-2272
Rep. Curtis Richardson
curtis.richardson@myfloridahouse.gov (850)488-1798
Rep. Dennis Ross
dennis.ross@myfloridahouse.gov (863)701-1400
Rep. Jack Seiler
jack.seiler@myfloridahouse.gov (954)786-4848
